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Marlins “Closing In” On Trevor Rogers Trade; Multiple Teams Still Involved In Bidding

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11:42am: The Marlins are “closing in” on a trade of Rogers, Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald reports. At this point, there are still multiple teams bidding for his services, but it seems the Fish are close to selecting an offer and then turning their focus to the wide array of relievers they could move today.

10:10am: The market for Marlins left-hander Trevor Rogers has picked up some steam this morning, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports. He’s among a slew of Marlins who could potentially be moved before this evening’s trade deadline. SNY’s Andy Martino adds that the Mets are one team that’s been talking to Miami about a deal for the 26-year-old Rogers.

Rogers, the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year runner-up, has had a healthy 2024 season after missing the majority of the 2023 campaign with a biceps strain and considerable time in 2022 due to both back spasms and a lat strain. He hasn’t been the same pitcher after navigating those health troubles, pitching to a 4.53 earned run average with diminished velocity (92.2 mph average fastball), strikeout (18%) and walk (9.7%) rates in 105 1/3 innings this season.

That said, Rogers was legitimately excellent as a rookie. The former No. 13 overall pick (2017) burst onto the scene with 133 innings of 2.66 ERA ball, a 28.5% strikeout rate and an 8.4% walk rate. His fastball was averaging a much more encouraging 94.6 mph at the time, but Rogers has some track record, some pedigree as a former top pick and, perhaps most importantly, plenty of affordable club control remaining.

The silver lining to those injuries (for the Marlins anyway) is that they limited Rogers’ time on the field and thus weighed down his price tag in arbitration. He’s earning just $1.525MM this season and is under club control for an additional two years. If a club feels they can coax another level out of Rogers — even if it’s not all the way back to his 2021 form — he’s a highly appealing option. Even if another club is simply looking at him as a controllable and affordable back-of-the-rotation arm with a full slate of three option years remaining, however, there’s some value in that as well.

The Mets are a fit for just such a depth option in the rotation. Veterans Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea lead a staff that also includes homegrown arms Tylor Megill and David Peterson. It’s not long ago that there was some thought to the Mets actually trading away a veteran arm like Quintana even as they looked to remain in contention, but the outlook has changed dramatically in Queens with likely season-ending injuries to both Kodai Senga (high-grade calf strain) and top prospect Christian Scott (UCL sprain).

Rogers isn’t necessarily a concrete upgrade over Megill and Peterson at the back of Carlos Mendoza’s staff, although it’s always fair to wonder how a change of scenery might impact a talented but struggling arm like Rogers. But even if Rogers is indeed viewed as a pure depth play for the Mets, there’s good reason to land that type of arm. With Scott and Senga now on the shelf and with veteran Adrian Houser’s recent DFA, the Mets don’t have any other rotation options on the 40-man roster. Southpaw Joey Lucchesi and righty Max Kranick are depth candidates in Triple-A after they both cleared waivers earlier this season, but that’s not sufficient for a team targeting a postseason berth.

Marlins Could Trade Multiple Relievers

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With a 97 mile per hour fastball and a 29% strikeout rate, Marlins lefty Tanner Scott is one of the better relievers likely to be dealt today – especially since he’s eligible for free agency after the season.  But it’s also worth considering several lower-profile members of the Marlins’ bullpen, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic naming Huascar Brazoban, Anthony Bender, and Declan Cronin as trade candidates in an article today.

The Marlins already traded their setup man, A.J. Puk, to the Diamondbacks five days ago.  Third in leverage index for manager Skip Schumaker over the last month after Scott and Puk: Brazoban.  Brazoban, 35 in October, broke into the Majors with the Fish as a 32-year-old.  His fastball sits around 96 miles per hour, and this year he’s improved both his strikeout and walk rates to reach 27.2% and 8.8%, respectively.  He also has a healthy 50% groundball rate.  Team control is perhaps less exciting for a player soon to turn 35, but Brazoban will not be eligible for arbitration until 2026, and would reach free agency after 2028.

Brazoban has shined over his last ten appearances, with no runs allowed and a 34.5 K%.  He could be just as effective as some of the household names changing teams this month, and he’s earning a mere $753K.

Rosenthal also mentioned Bender, a 29-year-old righty who missed all of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery.  Bender has bounced back from the procedure to post a 3.83 ERA, 24.4 K%, and 7.0 BB%, and 49.1% groundball rate on the season.  However, Bender’s velocity has not returned, as he was at 98.1 prior to surgery and sits at 95.5 this year.  His usage suggests he’s mostly been outside Schumaker’s circle of trust this year, but in allowing one run over his last 14 appearances, that’s changing.  Bender is earning $770K this year as a Super Two player, and he’s under team control through 2027.

Cronin, 27 in September, was a February waiver claim from the Astros, who had claimed him from the White Sox.  The righty has worked to a solid 25 K%, 7.9 BB%, and 54.2% groundball rate this year, racking up 50 1/3 innings.  More than half of his appearances have been more than one inning, and he’s been going two-plus often of late.  He’s potentially under team control through 2029.

Earlier this month, Craig Mish of the Miami Herald named Scott, Calvin Faucher, and Cronin as potential Marlins bullpen trade candidates, and wouldn’t rule out Andrew Nardi.  It’s safe to assume Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix will be listening today on his entire bullpen, and there’s a good chance of more trades.  And while this post focused on some new relief names, Rosenthal reminds us that starting pitcher Trevor Rogers and left fielder Bryan De La Cruz are candidates to move as well.

Mets Considering Tanner Scott, John Brebbia

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The Mets have already added Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek to their bullpen this month. They don’t appear to be content with that pair of acquisitions as they remain linked to a handful of relievers.

Tim Britton and Will Sammon of the Athletic write that the Mets have discussed a pursuit of White Sox righty John Brebbia. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that New York is one of multiple teams that has engaged Chicago on southpaw Tanner Banks. While the Sox relievers are more middle innings or setup options, FanSided’s Robert Murray suggests the Mets have also shown interest in top rental closer Tanner Scott.

Brebbia and Scott are both very likely to land elsewhere tomorrow. They’re each impending free agents on last place teams. Brebbia’s contract contains a $6MM mutual option with a $1.5MM buyout, but it’s fair to presume that will not be exercised by both parties. The Sox righty is playing this season on a modest $4MM deal.

While he owns an underwhelming 5.71 earned run average, Brebbia has more intriguing peripherals. He has fanned almost 30% of batters faced against a tidy 6.6% walk percentage. A lofty .346 average on balls in platy against him is the primary reason for his disappointing run prevention mark. The bat-missing ability should get him a middle relief spot on a contender.

Banks is a less clear trade candidate because he’s controllable for the foreseeable future. Yet he’s already 32 years old on a Sox team at the nadir of a rebuild. It’s unlikely that Banks is playing a meaningful role the next time the White Sox are in contention. He’s having a solid ’24 season, fanning nearly 27% of opposing hitters against a 7.3% walk rate. Banks has logged 48 innings of 4.13 ERA ball. He’s still two seasons away from qualifying for arbitration.

Scott is a much bigger name and would be tougher to land. The hard-throwing southpaw is on the radar of most contenders. He’s striking out 29.1% of opposing hitters with a sterling 1.18 ERA across 45 2/3 frames for the Marlins. Scott has locked down 18 of 20 save chances.

Marlins Claim David Hensley From Astros

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The Marlins announced that they have claimed infielder David Hensley off waivers from the Astros. The latter club designated him for assignment a week ago. The Marlins already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster and don’t need to make a corresponding move.

Hensley, 28, was selected to Houston’s 40-man roster in August of 2022 but has only played in 46 big league games since then, slashing a paltry .177/.273/.274 in those contests. His work in the minors has been better, but has also tailed off lately.

He slashed .298/.420/.478 at Triple-A in 2022, which led to a 130 wRC+ and Hensley getting the call to the big leagues. But he’s hit just .228/.358/.367 in 651 Triple-A plate appearances over 2023 and 2024, with that production translating to an 86 wRC+.

The Marlins had an open roster spot and there’s little harm in taking a shot on Hensley to see if his results bounce back. Despite the tepid results overall, he’s drawing walks in 15.1% of his plate appearances this year and can play all four infield spots, as well as the outfield corners. He’s also a threat for double-digit steals most of the time with 17 so far this year. He can be optioned for the rest of this year and one more season beyond that. He also has less than a year of service time and can be a long-term piece if he manages to carve out a role.

Marlins To Place Josh Bell On Waivers

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The Marlins are placing first baseman Josh Bell on waivers, reports Robert Murray of FanSided on X. At this point, there’s been nothing to suggest Bell has been removed from the roster. In fact, he’s in the lineup for Miami’s game against the Brewers that is taking place as of this writing. It’s possible he stays in Miami if he clears waivers, similar to what happened with Kevin Kiermaier and the Blue Jays earlier this month.

When a player is placed on waivers without being removed from the roster, the club is hoping that some other team will put in a claim and take the contract off their hands. If the player clears, they can send them outright to a minor league affiliate. But Bell has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining all of his salary, so the club can also decide to simply hang onto the player. That’s what transpired with Kiermaier, as he went unclaimed but the Jays kept him around.

Bell, 31, has had some really good seasons in his career but has been trending down of late. He slashed .266/.362/.422 for a wRC+ of 123 in 2022 and then headed into free agency. The Guardians signed him to a two-year, $33MM deal, with Bell making $16.5MM in each year and having the ability to opt out after the first season.

His tenure in Cleveland didn’t go especially well. He slashed .233/.318/.383 in 97 games for a wRC+ of 96. Since Bell isn’t especially fast nor considered a strong defender at first base, he needs to hit to provide value.

He was flipped to Miami at last year’s trade deadline in a swap of bad contracts, with Jean Segura and prospect Kahlil Watson going the other way. Bell’s results improved after the deal, as he hit .270/.338/.480 for a wRC+ of 119 and helped the Marlins get into the playoffs. Despite the hot start, he decided to trigger his player option and stick with the Fish for one more year.

But he hasn’t been able to carry over his strong finish from 2023, as he’s hitting .239/.303/.396 this year for a wRC+ of 96. With his lack of contributions on defense or the basepaths, he’s been below replacement level.

There’s just a bit under $6MM left on Bell’s deal, so the odds of him being claimed are pretty slim. The Marlins are clearly in sell mode, as they have traded controllable players like Luis Arráez and Jazz Chisholm Jr., so a rental player like Bell will undoubtedly be available. Though assuming he goes unclaimed in the coming days, the Fish will likely have to eat some of that money to facilitate a deal. Clubs like the Yankees, Astros, Mariners and others are looking for first base help and could perhaps look into buying low on Bell.

Yankees Acquire Jazz Chisholm Jr.

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Jazz Chisholm Jr. is on his way to the Big Apple. The Yankees announced they’ve acquired Chisholm from the Marlins for three prospects: catcher Agustin Ramirez and infielders Jared Serna and Abrahan Ramirez.

Chisholm, 26, was a consensus top-100 prospect when the Marlins acquired him from the Diamondbacks in the deal that sent right-hander Zac Gallen to Arizona. While Gallen has blossomed into one of the NL’s top starters since arriving in the desert, Chisholm’s time in Miami has been far less consistent. After a rookie 2021 campaign where he split time between shortstop and second base with roughly league average offense, Chisholm committed to second full-time in 2022 and broke out in a big way with an excellent .254/.325/.535 (136 wRC+) slash line that year. Unfortunately, Chisholm’s All-Star campaign was cut short by a stress fracture in his back that limited him to just 60 games that year.

That injury combined with the Marlins’ lack of quality options in the outfield led Miami to move Chisholm out of the infield ahead of the 2023 season, installing him in center field. The results of that experiment were somewhat mixed, as Chisholm took a step backwards on offense with a 103 wRC+ and was limited to just 97 games by a bout of turf toe but proved to be surprisingly solid defensively in center with +4 Outs Above Average, although Defensive Runs Saved disagreed with that assessment and graded him as one of the ten worst outfield defenders in the sport last year with a -14 figure. Chisholm’s offense hasn’t rebounded much in 2024 as he’s slashing .249/.323/.407 (104 wRC+) on the year, but his defensive metrics have settled in a bit more to paint him as a roughly scratch defender (+1 OAA, -4 DRS) in center field. Perhaps most importantly, the youngster has stayed healthy and on the field this year as he’s appeared in 101 of Miami’s 104 games while even getting some work in at second base again in recent weeks.

Chisholm’s versatility is surely part of what makes him an attractive addition for the Yankees. While Aaron Judge and Juan Soto’s otherworldly 2024 campaigns have kept the Yankees offense afloat for the most part to this point and allowed the club to post a solid 60-45 record overall, they’ve gone just 6-13 in the month of July thanks in part to a lackluster supporting cast that has seen only catcher Austin Wells post above average numbers by measure of wRC+ among healthy Yankees players with at least 100 PA this year not named Judge or Soto.

With so many spots in the lineup that could do with an upgrade, Chisholm’s slightly better than average bat and versatility figure to be a major asset for the Yankees. SNY’s Andy Martino was among those to suggest following news of the trade that Chisholm’s position with the Yankees is not yet fully set in stone, and it’s easy to see why. Chisholm’s ability to play center could allow manager Aaron Boone to turn to struggling left fielder Alex Verdugo, who has posted a wRC+ of just 56 since the start of June, less often while pushing Judge to a less taxing spot in the outfield or perhaps even allowing him to DH on days where both Chisholm and Verdugo are roaming the outfield.

On the other hand, Gleyber Torres is having a relative down season (96 wRC+) as the club’s regular second baseman and third base has been a massive hole for the Yankees all season, though neither Torres nor Chisholm have any experience at the hot corner in the majors. Given Torres’s excellent 119 wRC+ against lefties and Verdugo’s brutal 63 wRC+ against fellow southpaws this season, it’s possible even to imagine Chisholm (who sports a decent 96 wRC+ against southpaws in spite of his own lefty bat) playing the outfield against lefty starters while mixing into the infield more often against righties, allowing the Yankees to play matchups more effectively for both Verdugo and Torres, especially in the event that New York brass don’t want to have either Chisholm or Torres learn third base on the fly.

Of course, another factor in Chisholm’s value to the Yankees is the fact that he’s controlled through the end of the 2026 season. For an offense that figures to see Soto, Torres, Verdugo, J.D. Davis, and perhaps Anthony Rizzo all depart for free agency following the 2024 campaign, adding Chisholm to the lineup as a long-term building block alongside sluggers Judge and Giancarlo Stanton as well as youngsters Wells, Anthony Volpe, and Ben Rice offers the Yankees the ability to decide Chisholm’s long-term home on the diamond based on both his defensive performance and the needs of the roster surrounding him in an offseason where re-signing Soto figures to be the top priority. It’s possible to imagine Chisholm settling in as a fixture of the club’s mix in either the infield or outfield depending on both the club’s external additions this winter and the performance of up-and-coming youngsters in the club’s system like infielder Oswald Peraza and outfielder Jasson Dominguez, both of whom could vie for everyday roles in 2025.

As for the Marlins, they’ll receive a package of three prospects in return for the youngster who has been the club’s lone productive hitter this year ever since Luis Arraez was dealt to San Diego back in May. The closest to making an impact at the major league level of that group is Ramirez, a 22-year-old catcher who is already on the 40-man roster and reached the Triple-A level earlier this year. The youngster is just the #20 prospect in the Yankees system according to MLB Pipeline but is a far more robust third in the system according to Baseball America.

A bat-first catcher who slashed an impressive .290/.372/.570 in 58 games at the Double-A level this year prior to his promotion to the next level, Ramirez offers enticing raw power and a knack for making contact in the zone, though upper-level breaking balls have given him trouble and both Pipeline and BA suggest that he’ll need to improve his swing decisions a bit to reach his potential as a hitter. Scouts have plenty of questions about whether or not Ramirez will be able to stick behind the plate in the majors, though there’s optimism that he’ll have a future in the big leagues even if he ends up moving off catcher to a more offensively demanding position like first base.

Also heading to Miami in the return is Serna, a 22-year-old infielder in the midst of a solid season at the High-A level. The club’s #19 prospect per Pipeline and #11 prospect per BA, Serna has slashed a respectable .253/.341/.444 in 88 games with the Yankees’ affiliate in Hudson Valley while swiping 11 bags and slugging 13 home runs, although his body doesn’t project for much more power and he’s expected to slug at below average levels in the majors. Serna is also viewed as unlikely to stick at shortstop long-term, with BA noting that his fringey arm means he’s likely to end up at second base although he does have experience in the outfield and at the hot corner as well.

As for the latter Ramirez, he signed with the Yankees out of Venezuela back in 2022 on a $30,000 bonus (h/t Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com) and made his stateside debut earlier this year. In 49 games in complex ball this year, the 19-year-old has looked good with an excellent .348/.447/.513 slash line in 189 trips to the plate while splitting time between shortstop as well as second and third base. Ramirez is not ranked within the Yankees’ top-30 prospects by any major public-facing evaluators at the moment, although given his youth and big numbers in complex ball it wouldn’t be a shock to see him make some noise in that regard with Miami at some point in the future.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported the Yankees and Marlins were in talks about a deal that’d send Chisholm to New York for three prospects. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic was first to say the deal was done. ESPN’s Alden González reported Agustin Ramirez was the headliner and Abrahan Ramirez’s inclusion. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com had Serna’s inclusion.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Diamondbacks, Mariners Interested In Tanner Scott

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The Diamondbacks and Mariners are among the teams “thought to be vying for” Marlins closer Tanner Scott, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.  At least a dozen clubs have reportedly shown some level of interest in Scott’s services, with the D’Backs and M’s now joining the Orioles, Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, and Royals as publicly known suitors.

Scott threw another scoreless inning in Miami’s 6-2 win over the Brewers last night, extending his scoreless innings streak to 17 2/3 frames.  For the season as a whole, Scott has a superb 1.18 ERA over 45 2/3 innings, with a 28.7% strikeout rate and similarly excellent numbers almost across the board — with the glaring exception of his 14.8% walk rate, which sits just a few decimal points away from being the very worst in baseball.

While these control problems make Scott less than an automatic lock in the ninth inning, this is his second consecutive season of tremendous results as the Marlins’ closer.  Since Miami is in seller mode and Scott is a free agent after the season, the left-hander is one of the most obvious players to be moved by the July 30 trade deadline, and several contenders are naturally reaching out to the Marlins about Scott’s services.

Arizona, in fact, already completed a deal with Miami about another southpaw reliever just two days ago, picking up A.J. Puk for two prospects.  Heyman’s report doesn’t specify the timing of the Diamondbacks’ inquiries about Scott, so it does seem possible that the D’Backs might’ve pivoted to Puk as a backup plan if the Marlins’ asking price for Scott was too high.  On the flip side, an argument can easily be made that Arizona’s shaky bullpen needs more reinforcements than just Puk, so it is easy to imagine that trade as perhaps laying some groundwork for future talks, once the Marlins explore what other clubs are willing to give up for Scott.

Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen told reporters (including Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports) that the Snakes could add more relievers, and the team was continuing to focus on acquiring pitching before turning to acquire any position players.  “We’re still gonna stay engaged in every market, you never know when an opportunity is gonna come up,” Hazen said.

The Mariners are another team who has already been very active in advance of July 30, as Seattle has acquired both Randy Arozarena and Yimi Garcia in respective trades with the Rays and Blue Jays.  Like with the D’Backs and the Puk trade, Seattle’s acquisition of Garcia probably doesn’t close the door on the possibility that the M’s might also aim to land Scott, though the Mariners have a far more glaring need for offense than pitching.  Depending on how much prospect depth or financial flexibility the M’s have, Seattle could opt to focus its upcoming moves towards adding more bats, rather than bring Scott into what is already a pretty solid bullpen.

Royals Have Shown Interest In Tanner Scott

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Tanner Scott is almost certain to be traded within the next four days. He and Carlos Estévez are the top two rental relievers on the market. The Marlins are willing to listen on anyone on the roster and already traded one key bullpen piece last night.

Scott has been a known target for the likes of the Yankees, Dodgers, Orioles and Phillies dating back to the middle of June. Interest in the hard-throwing southpaw surely extends beyond that group of four. Indeed, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic wrote on Thursday night that the Royals are also looking into Scott.

Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo has spoken a few times about wanting to add power to the back of the bullpen. The Royals put that into action a couple weeks ago, landing Hunter Harvey from the Nationals just before the draft. They’re evidently still engaged in the relief market. Harvey had pitched in a setup capacity in Washington and looks to be sticking in that role with his new team.

James McArthur has held the ninth inning. It hasn’t always been smooth, as he has blown five of 22 save chances (including his most recent opportunity in Wednesday’s loss to the Diamondbacks). The 27-year-old righty has allowed nearly five earned runs per nine across 40 1/3 innings. He’s getting ground-balls at an excellent 53.8% clip and has plus control, but his 18.5% strikeout rate is well below average. McArthur doesn’t get nearly as many strikeouts as the typical closer, so the Royals could look to push him into the middle innings.

Scott is much more of a traditional closer. He pairs a 97 MPH heater with an upper-80s slider that misses plenty of bats. Scott has fanned more than 29% of opponents over 45 2/3 frames this season. He punched out more than a third of batters faced last year. He’s prone to bouts of wildness but has such high-octane stuff that he has been a dominant presence at the back of the Miami bullpen. After turning in a 2.31 ERA across 78 innings a year ago, he’s allowing 1.18 earned runs per nine this season.

The 30-year-old southpaw is playing on a $5.7MM salary in his final year of arbitration. There’s roughly $2MM in commitments for the stretch run. Scott could be looking at a three- or four-year deal next winter, so there’s very little chance he’ll stay in Miami past the deadline.

Diamondbacks Acquire A.J. Puk

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The Diamondbacks are making a big move on the relief market. Arizona announced the acquisition of A.J. Puk from the Marlins for two prospects: corner infielder Deyvison De Los Santos and center fielder Andrew Pintar. The D-Backs designated lefty reliever Joe Jacques for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot.

It’s the second consecutive season in which Arizona makes a major addition to the late innings. The Snakes brought in Paul Sewald to lock down the ninth a year ago. Sewald is still holding down the closer role despite a rough stretch this month. Puk adds a high-octane southpaw to the setup group.

A former sixth overall pick by the Athletics, Puk broke through as a high-leverage reliever in 2022. Oakland dealt him to Miami for outfielder JJ Bleday in a swap of former top draft picks the following offseason. Puk fired 56 2/3 frames of 3.97 ERA ball with excellent strikeout and walk numbers during his first season in South Florida. He held the closer role for a stretch, picking up 15 saves and finishing 31 games altogether.

Miami could have been content to leave Puk in a late-innings role. First-year president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and his front office were curious about the possibility of stretching Puk back into the rotation role he’d occupied in college and during the early part of his minor league career. While the Spring Training results were promising, the starting pitching experiment proved a short-lived blunder.

The 29-year-old opened the season in Miami’s rotation. He took the ball four times and didn’t once make it through the fifth inning. Opponents teed off for 17 runs in Puk’s 13 2/3 innings as a starter. He walked 17 and hit a batter while recording just 12 strikeouts. The Marlins placed him on the injured on April 20, citing shoulder fatigue.

When they reinstated him a few weeks later, Miami abandoned the rotation maneuver and kicked Puk back into his customary short relief role. The results since then have been exceptional. The University of Florida product has turned in a 2.08 ERA over 30 1/3 innings out of the ’pen. He has punched out 33 of 114 batters faced while walking only six. Opponents are hitting .159/.204/.252 in that time. Puk has held seven leads in front of All-Star closer Tanner Scott (who is basically a lock to move before next Tuesday’s deadline himself).

Puk’s season stats are still weighed down by his disastrous few weeks in the rotation. Excluding his starting work paints the picture of an impact reliever. Over his season and a half in Miami, Puk carried a 3.31 ERA through 86 appearances when working out of the bullpen. He punched out 31.2% of batters faced compared to a tidy 5.3% walk rate. Puk has been particularly lethal to left-handed batters. Southpaws have hit .174/.215/.287 with 45 strikeouts and four walks over 123 plate appearances when Puk has pitched in relief. Righties have had a bit more success, particularly from a power perspective, but they’ve hit .236 with a modest .283 on-base percentage.

The D-Backs had been light on left-handed relief depth. Joe Mantiply was the only southpaw in Torey Lovullo’s bullpen. He has a 3.99 ERA behind a solid 48.2% ground-ball rate, but he doesn’t throw hard or record many strikeouts. Puk averages north of 95 MPH with his fastball and has a swing-and-miss slider that more comfortably plays in the late innings. Mantiply can serve as the second lefty in the hierarchy, while Brandon Hughes is on optional assignment to Triple-A.

Puk is playing on a $1.8MM salary in his first season of arbitration. The Diamondbacks are taking on a bit less than $700K for the stretch run. He’ll go through the arbitration process twice more before hitting free agency during the 2026-27 offseason. Puk doesn’t have the gaudy save totals that arbitrators tend to value from relievers, so he should be a generally affordable bullpen piece for the next couple years.

Miami brings back a pair of mid-tier prospects in their first of what should be a handful of deadline deals. De Los Santos is the more highly-regarded of the duo. He’s a right-handed hitting infielder who has elevated his stock with a monster season in the upper minors. Baseball America’s JJ Cooper tweets that De Los Santos would have ranked eighth on the outlet’s forthcoming update of Arizona’s top 30 prospects. Pintar would’ve landed 21st on that list.

The D-Backs signed De Los Santos out of the Dominican Republic five years ago. He immediately intrigued evaluators with his power upside but struggled to make contact in the low minors. He played his way to Double-A by age 20 and connected on 20 homers there last season. Yet he also struck out at a 26% clip and only managed a .297 on-base percentage. The Diamondbacks left him unprotected for the Rule 5 draft and briefly watched him depart the organization. The Guardians snagged De Los Santos in the Rule 5 and carried him on their 40-man roster during Spring Training.

Cleveland decided at the end of camp that they couldn’t devote a bench spot to a development project. The Guards returned De Los Santos to Arizona after he cleared waivers. The Snakes sent him back to Double-A Amarillo for a second straight year. De Los Santos obliterated the level, hitting .372/.426/.696 with 14 homers in 38 games. He hasn’t tailed off much since being promoted to Triple-A Reno. De Los Santos has 14 more homers over 49 Triple-A contests, and he’s running a .289/.338/.588 slash.

There’s still a fair bit of risk with De Los Santos’ profile. Scouts have never loved his defense at third base. Arizona has used him mostly at first base this season, suggesting that’s where he projects as a big leaguer. He remains an aggressive hitter who isn’t taking many walks. That’s a difficult profile to pull off, but De Los Santos clearly has impact power that could fit in the middle of a lineup if he hits his ceiling. Miami will need to put him on their 40-man roster at the start of the offseason to keep him out of the upcoming Rule 5 draft. There’s a good chance they call him up at some point after the deadline, particularly if they manage to find a taker for Josh Bell in the coming days.

Pintar, 23, was a fifth-round pick out of BYU back in 2022. A righty-swinging center fielder, he has spent the bulk of the season in High-A. Pintar hit .304/.403/.516 with nine homers and nearly as many walks as strikeouts over 57 games. Arizona had promoted him to Double-A a couple weeks ago. Pintar has above-average speed and has improved his offensive profile with his strong showing through the season’s first few months.

As for Jacques, he’ll likely land on waivers in the next few days. Arizona claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox in April. He only pitched once for them at the MLB level. The 29-year-old southpaw has a 5.60 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in the minors this season. He made his MLB debut with Boston last season and worked to a 5.06 ERA across 26 2/3 frames.

The D-Backs could look into adding a starting pitcher and/or an offensive upgrade before Tuesday, though a high-leverage reliever has seemed their priority for weeks. Miami will certainly remain active on the trade market. Beyond Scott, they’re likely to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. and try to offload some of Bell’s contract. They could field offers on others relievers like Andrew Nardi and Calvin Faucher, starter Trevor Rogers, and outfielders Jesús Sánchez and Bryan De La Cruz. The Fish are in full rebuild mode and don’t have many players who’ll be categorically off the table.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Diamondbacks were acquiring Puk. Craig Mish of SportsGrid reported the Marlins were acquiring De Los Santos as one of two prospects. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale identified the second prospect as a position player, while Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 was first to report it would be Pintar. Alexander reported the Jacques DFA.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Pirates Evaluating Bryan De La Cruz

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The Pirates are scouting Marlins outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, writes Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. Pittsburgh is also known to be keeping an eye on center fielder/second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., though there’s no indication they’ve progressed in trade talks.

De La Cruz, 27, has been a regular in the Miami outfield for the past three seasons. He has hit around a league average level, showing solid power with middling on-base skills. This year has been no exception. De La Cruz has 17 home runs and should surpass the 20-homer threshold for the first time in his career. He’s not getting on base consistently, though. De La Cruz is striking out at an elevated 26% rate while drawing walks just 5.5% of the time. He’s hitting .241/.285/.410 across 439 plate appearances overall.

That’s not really the level of offensive output expected of a corner outfielder. While De La Cruz has some experience in center field, he has played exclusively in the corners or at designated hitter this season. Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average are each bearish on his defensive profile, especially regarding his left field work.

FanGraphs and Baseball Reference have each graded him around replacement level. The Bucs could view him as a buy-low target based on his decent exit velocities. Craig Mish wrote in the Miami Herald earlier this month that the Marlins were unlikely to deal De La Cruz (and outfield mate Jesús Sánchez), reasoning they’d be selling low on both players. The Fish wouldn’t take either off the table, however, so the Bucs could certainly make a push for De La Cruz if they feel he’d represent a notable upgrade.

Pittsburgh needs offense in general and could look for outfield help specifically. Their biggest need is probably in center field, where the combination of Jack Suwinski and Michael A. Taylor has fallen flat. De La Cruz wouldn’t address that, but Pittsburgh has also had one of the least productive right field groups in MLB.

They’ve given a decent amount of time there to Edward Olivares, a broadly similar player to De La Cruz. He’s also a right-handed hitter with some intriguing physical tools but limited on-base ability. Olivares is hitting .224/.291/.333 over 55 games, leading the Bucs to option him to Triple-A shortly before the All-Star Break. They’ve used a Joshua Palacios/Connor Joe platoon there in recent weeks.

De La Cruz has yet to reach arbitration and is playing for slightly more than the league minimum. He’ll be eligible for arbitration next winter and is on track to hit free agency after the 2027 campaign (barring an earlier non-tender).

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